I know we still have five days of the olympics to go but I wanted to say it now. For the majority of GB the olympics has been an amazing experience. The object of bringing the games to London was to 'inspire a generation' and I have certainly been inspired. I used to be vice-captain of my local swimming club and I used to cycle daily. Unfortunately due to my health I stopped both. But after seeing some of these athletes once I get back to full health I intend to get back on my bike. So far this is our best olympic medal haul since 1908! All athletes (with the exception perhaps of the men footballers) have been fantastic in victory (note Farah, Ennis and Wiggins, amongst others) and defeat (note Gimilu and Pendleton). They don't do it for the money and they don't make a fuss having made huge sacrifices. Even Gimilu apologising after missing out on the 100m final. It was so humbling. The noise from the British crowds has been absolutely brilliant. Even in the heats, as I can tell you first hand, at the swim ming I was completely deafened by the crowd! It has made me incredibly proud to be British! When I go to the olympic stadium next week I will be getting my British flag and waving it proudly. Now, moving on to a bit of negative stuff. Throughout today I have felt I have lost a bit of interest in football. With all these footballers fussing over not being paid £50k a week, the diving and the rivalry. These athletes don't abuse each other. You don't see Dai Greene (for example) calling his Kenyan opponents a f'ing black c---! Obviously there has been the exception of the four set of doubles badminton players who were kicked out. But I am a lover of a lot of sports. We will see how I am come the start of the new football season but I have certainly been inspired by the athletes. Forget Suarez, Terry and Ashley Cole we have much better people to look up to.
Yep, these atheletes are amazing along with the coaches. It just makes you realise what a bunch of vacuous ****ers footballers are.
I understand your feelings but A) If it results in more cyclists getting in my way on the road or trying to knock me over on the pavement I will be completely pissed off B) I suspect it will be like Wimbledon. For the Wimbledon fortnight and the following week you can't get a Tennis Court in the local park as they are all being used. A week later - empty!! C) I have enjoyed the Olympics but will I watch Athletics, Swimming, Cycling or any other minority sport when it next appears on the Tele - No. D) A lot of the enjoyment has been the Olympic atmosphere not the sport itself. As a generality these sports are not spectator sports. E) I agree that Football has not come out of the Olympic fortnight covered in glory but if, on the first day of the season there is football on Sky Sports 1, dressage on 2, diving on 3 and cycling on 4 - guess what I will be watching!!
I completely agree, not just inspiring in sport but any career. To see Oscar Pistorius competing in the Olympics with feet or shins just made me realise anyone can acheive anything. The first Gold medal we got the woman only got into a rowing boat four years ago. Definitely has been brilliant and I think it has definitely inspired a lot of people.
It's been brilliant the whole atmosphere of the country has changed. I find myself having conversations with people at work who I don't have much in common with and I'm shocked at how enthusiastic they actually are about sports, I'm learning new rules to new sports everyday it's not only been excellent entertainment it's been educational too. I hope the future generation put down their xbox controllers, get off facebook move their arses off the sofa and get out there doing sports. One massive positive I heard the GB Handball teams website has crashed three times this week and there has been that much interest and requests for information that they're having to get in extra staff. Hopefully some lesser know sports will gain more fans and get more people playing.
What are you seeing in the stadium next week Wonky? You do know the closing ceremony is on Sunday and the Paralympics doesn't start for a couple of weeks don't you?
Don't go to Cambridge then! It's bad enough already! But at Wimbledon we have not had much success over the years. It is also an annual tournament. It is not a once in a lifetime event like the olympics. It would also depend on what is done by the athletes afterwards, visiting schools and continuing to encourage people to get involved in sport. Also, tennis is heavily dictated by the weather, we only have a week of good weather a year! Admittedly these sports aren't broadcast as much as football. But a few more people may watch when the World championships come around. Agreed, yet I would focus more on people's participation in sport rather than watching it. I will be the same, but as above it's more about the participation of sport than watching it.
As Northampton said in the Olympics thread the GB Handball website has crashed this week due to people finding out about the sport, in all honesty even I would be tempted to start handball it actually looked pretty good fun. And I read loads of people signed up to Velodromes this week around the country. Don't get me wrong it could be similar to Wimbledon but I have hope it will be more permanent, I think people have learnt this week that being patient and working hard reaps rewards, sometimes you don't learn that from Wimbledon because it is annually.
well i've been inspired! i'm trying archery and will no doubt get back in the pool having not been swimming for a few years. the bikes at the ready too... i too have lost a bit of my love for football over the past two weeks and i know a few others who have too. as said above, it won't stop me going or watching or anything like that but i think football has come out of this looking an ugly sport in my opinion and its easier to see why people who don't like football moan about it so much.
The hard work starts after the games to maintain that excitement. Perhaps through athletes visiting schools and PE being improved in schools. Increase funding to sports clubs and advertise them more. These athletes have been brilliant. They have all worked hard and made sacrifices. They really do put the footballers to shame. The crowds at the olympics have cheered the athletes along whether they're first, second or last. In football, you hear the crowd moaning when a player does something slightly wrong. The athletes have all said the crowd have helped them along. That suggests to me that when a footballer does something slightly wrong they should be encouraged and cheered and not moaned at.
If there was football, athletics, cycling and cricket on the sports channels then unless the match involved the Canaries football would almost certainly be the last of those I'd be interested in. I used to absolutely love the athletics meetings on tv of a friday night back in the day, when our athletes all used to be household names like they are right now. I hope after this summer someone might find room in their schedule to broadcast the Diamond League meets again. We've all been conditioned to put football on a pedestal above everything else, it's all the tabloid media are interested in and since Sky piled their money in and flooded our screens with match after match after match it has become overkill as far as I'm concerned and as much as I am hooked on it and love the game I agree with others who say these Olympics have helped to put it all in perspective.
Well said!! Also, all the competitors are not paid over 5 or 6 figure sums a week (nor are they living in poverty), but they have dedicated themselves to their sport over several years and I applaud their achievements. Let's hope the lasting legacy is that we see the return of 'competitive' sports to schools, so that those who may struggle in academic studies can perhaps excel in other ways.
Sky is encouraging us to pay a lot of money each month to stick our arses on the sofa watching these 'big footballers' play crap football. Why not instead get out of the house and go for a run? It's free. You could also join a cycling club where your monthly fee is a lot less than that of sky and you're getting exercise in the process. Money needs to go away from advertising and into helping people get involved sport.
I agree Supers, I have also fallen out of love with football over the last few weeks! Mind you can you blame me with the present shower running my club! It just goes to show that there are 100s of sports out there that are accessable and are relatively cheap to participate in. Apart from the Equine of course where social elitism is still alive and well! Football far from being the "Beautiful" Game has shown itself to be ugly by comparison and yet after this amazing summer is over I fear that it will return to dominate the sporting headlines.
